Sahara, St John's wood - sleazy Lebanese ?

Hi all, I'll make it very quick.

I made a previous article about Sahara where I spoke highly about their fantastic tabouleh.

Now, I've been there the other night with a Russian model friend of mine (I do photography as a hobby). Needless to say that she is hot, she gets paid for this. As we were having dinner, the waiter stayed there at the back and STARED at my friend... and STARED, and STARED more... I think he did not have sex for a year or so....

That attitude was very pushy and not acceptable from ANY restaurant, not even if the tabouleyh is good. My friend felt uncomfortable.

Having Lebanese roots, I can definitely say that was very sleazy and I would not go back to this restaurant, not even if their tabouleyh is good.

Do not bring your girfriend there, you're warned.

108 Marylebone, Marylebone Lane - Local supply

Jan-23rd count around £25pp including a glass of wine for a two course meal. Keep in mind TopTable has great offers on this place all year long.

I heard of the 108 Marylebone Lane with TopTable. It's one of the most booked places on the site. The particularity of the 108 Marylebone is that they supply most of their food locally, at least they claim they do. What are the local places? Well, you have three sources: the Ginger Pig for meat (a GREAT butcher), Biggles for sausages and La Fromagerie for cheese.

Service is excellent. Atmosphere is a bit austere for me, but a few of my dates liked it. So I guess everyone is different.

When it comes to food, it's a good place very affordable who does not lie to you. They serve what they say they serve: locally supplied, well cooked dish. Food reminds me of familial food, but better presented... Basically the food is great for someone hungry. Don't expect anything delicate. It's good familial British food.

No more talk, now the photos!

We had a homemade terrine - they don't even mention it is homemade, and they should... cause it was the gift of the lunch in my opinion. Traditional terrine, made like our grandma used to cook. Rich, filling and yummy.

Lovely homemade terrine 

It was very tasty and done traditionally

Then we had British sausages (from Biggles) and mash. that was just among the best sausage and mash I ever had. The sausages are excellent. Once again, no delicacy here, but very nice in mouth, rich - but not too much, not sickening rich if you see what I mean.

Sausage and mash

It tastes as good as it look. 

No comments needed for that. 

Fresh and tasty sausages

We ordered as well cod which was just very nice and fresh. Very soft too. Not the freshest fish I ever had, but still to a high standard.

Cod with chickpeas

It was very nice, but not the best I ever had. Not too delicate.

Dessert was a chocolate tart... and that was ... erm... LUSH ! And I still did not manage to become a chocolate fan, but that one was tasty and chocolatey...

I did love the chocolate tart...  

It worked very well, was definitely 

home made and to a high standard.

All in all, the 108 Marylebone Lane is a good address to go if you want to have familial food, better presented for an affordable price, particularly if you book it in advance with TopTable.

L'Autre Pied, Blandford St - A cheap one star michelin on Sundays

Jan-10th Sunday Lunch only offer 3 course menu at £29pp for a one star Michelin, without drink

The Michelin family is one of the wealthiest in France. Two brothers Edouard and Andre Michelin, started their tyre company in the end ot the XIXth century based in a city called Clermond-Ferrand. The company became one of the biggest French company, employing thousands of people. You might ask yourself why I start this post talking about the Michelin brothers... and tyres on a food blog. The reason is pretty simple. I want to talk a little bit about the Michelin guide. I believe, the Michlelin guide was published by the Michelin company in order to entice people to use their car (driving all over the country to find the perfect restaurant), hence using their tyre, so they can buy new ones, when they need it...! Quickly, the Michelin guide became a must have, referring exceptional restaurants in very small cities, with fantastic food. Everyone had it in their car in the 90s as far as I remember my childhood. Maybe I come from a family where food is essential.

Michelin has four ratings: no star but mentionned in the guide (that means it's worth some attention). And then one, two or three star ratings (three being the top grade a restaurant could have). Three stars Michelin are rare places to eat, and you expect everything to be pefect, from the atmosphere to the service, not forgetting the food of course. But it takes into account the art of dressing a table as well as the cuddlery used. That's how hard it gets to become a 3 star Michelin...

Now, let's go back to L'Autre Pied and how I heard of it. You probably have read the story of the couple who went in a top class restaurant, then went our for a cigarette and never came back to pay... Well, that restaurant was L'Autre Pied, a one star Michelin. 

When you come in, you get a warm welcome. People care about you here. Atmosphere is good, but make sure you don't sit too far from the window, because then it gets too dark. Try to get a table next to the window. On sunday lunch, it's usually not a problem to sit there, as there is less people than on evenings. Also, you have the whole attention of the waiters on sunday lunch.

What I prefered about this place is their passion about food. That is certainly what suprised me the most. I had the feeling they try to make me feel very special and surprised about their food. They're as passionate about food as I am and answer all the questions you might have about anything in your plate.

Now, the food. The sunday lunch menu is the best deal of this place.

I took the Jerusalem artichoke veloute as a starter. I cannot talk too much about it, to not disappoint your whole experience. Let me just say this: the cook tries to surprise you, and the way he achives that is by adding a few ingredients in the dish which are not specifically mentionned the menu. I won't tell you what it is... It worked on me. The presentation was good, without being fantastic. Just good. And taste was great. It was a rich veloute, with winter vegetables, tasty and made with fresh ingredients, which, obviously, I expected for a restaurant of this standing.

Jerusalem artichoke and hazelnut veloute

It is bigger than it looks, and it did surprise me, in a good way.

The main was the sea-bream. It was fresh, with a very interesting lemon sauce. I personaly would not rate it a one star Michelin. But it was very nice and fresh. And you feel there is some art in the sauce as well.

A bit disappointed by the seam bream

It was nice but not to the level I expected for a one star restaurant

Lot of work on the sauce has been done 

Dessert was the bitter chocolate tart. I am not a chocolate fan, but I was in the mood... it happens from time to time. I can tell you one thing, that was cocoa-ey, flavours were nice and strong in dark chocolate. It was nice to finish on a sweet tone, but not too sweet. That's how French people like their desserts: simple, not too rich, no cream , not extra sweet, just a bit. That was it.

Bitter chocolate tart

I loved that one, strong in dark chocolate - just too small??? :( 

In a few words, L'Autre Pied sunday lunch menu is an affordable experience in a great restaurant. Some people consider it to be one of the best in London. I would not go that far. It's a great restaurant, provided you make sure you have a good table and you go on Sundays for their lunch menu, otherwise, my personal opinion would be it is slightly overpriced for what it is.

Le Cafe Anglais, Bayswater/Queensway station - Poultry? Yes, please!

Jan-17th count around £35pp for a two course meal, with a glass of wine.

First time I heard of the Cafe Anglais was on a sunday reading the Financial Times and enjoying a full English. The chef, Rowley Leigh, writes weekly in it. I thought his receipes looked just amazing. That's how I decided to book the place. If you're a bit disappointed by their website, it's normal. Honestly, you should have a go. At the time I write the article, I have been in the place two times already and already plan a third visit this year. The restaurant has been serving food for 3 years now, and the menu changes every season. Actually the date is on the menu they hand you over :)

I brought a date at the Cafe Anglais. I won't judge the quality of the date and will try to focus on the food.... as usual :)

First impression when you come in is good as you get a warm welcome of the staff. Atmosphere is great and you immediately feel at ease. The place is big and reminded me of a high standard French brasserie. There are nice boxes as well (for four people). Ask for one, if you book in advance. Special attention is put on the service. People listen to which comments you make and are happy to help you out. Oh, and smiling!

Concerning the food, I believe it's underpriced. 3 little starters are sold at £12?!? It's a bargain considering the quality of it.

The best seller of the place is the "anchovies bread with parmesan custard". It reminded me in the presentation of the soft boiled egg with soldiers. One has to be passionate about food to come up with this creation. Anchovies bread is salty and tasty... you dip them in the parmesan custard. The creamyness of the custard contrasts with the saltyness of the anchovies ; the softness of the cream with the crunchiness of the soldiers. That IS the best seller of the place, don't miss it, please. If it's not for you, do it for your date at least. You never know, maybe you'll get rewarded with a nice dessert after coffee, with cream and cherry on tip... oops, I meant top - freudian slip... I usually do.

Anchovy toasts with parmesan custard. 

Don't miss this. Best seller.

Another view of the parmesan custard. 

Soft, creamy and yummy.

Other starters includes few different types of pate. A very simple starter which got my attention was the celriac remoulade which is French dish without any pretention or arrogance. And before you say anything, YES, French stuff can sometimes be not arrogant, I promise you :) Unfortunately that was during my first visit, hence no photo of the real Cafe Anglais one.

Kipper pate with soft boiled egg - that was ok-ish

Without soul I thought

 

Salt cod pate on a piece of bread .

Same than above, nice but without force . No heart

On top of those little starters, we ordered two main starters. I was disappointed by the smoked eel with bacon salad. I found it too smokey, too baconney, too salty and too oily. Tough. Pass your way on this one. The best surprise of the dinner was the "pike boudin with beure blanc sauce" by far. I think it was not a boudin as such, it was more of a quenelle, a specialty from Lyon. That was soft, tasty and melting in the mouth. It was freshly made. Reward your palate if you have the occasion to.

Pike boudin, the best surprise of the restaurant. 

Beurre blanc saue was matching perfectly. VERY soft boudin.

 Warm smoked eel salad with bacon. 

Too much oil, too much smoke, too much bacon, too much salt.

Too much of everything. Don't have that.

Now, it's high time to talk about the mains... Specialty of the place is poultry. Chicken used is of a good standard and quality. I would not recommend to go for the simple chicken. Have something a bit more exotic, like patridge for example? They usually come with a range of vegetables braised, which marry the meat in an acidic, strong, rich and flavoury way. Here we are talking about winter vegetables: cabbage, Jerusalem artichokes, carrots and assimilates... The chicken is cooked on the spit, vertical ones.

Patridge, no explanation needed. 

Rich, firm and tasty.

Vegetable plate for £11. Very soft winter veggies.

They say you should have 5 a day...

The "saddle of venison with red cabbage and chestnuts" main as well was strong, gamey and tasty. Cooked the way it should, red inside. It came with braised red cabbage and a gravy like sauce.

Venison, red cabbage and chestnut.

One word : lovely.

To conclude, the Cafe Anglais have a standard of good ingredients and good cuisine art. The result is a great dinner for an reasonable price. Have a go with friend, you probably won't be disappointed. I believe their prices will go up in the next few years as more and more articles are written about the place, people will realize it's a lovely place to dine out.

Atari-Ya (2), James St - second visit

Jan-19th cheap sushi for a great quality

That was my second time I took photos at Atari-Ya. I cannot count precisely how many times I have been to this place, but certainly more than 20 times.
I wont praise more Atari-Ya, you got it form first review by now. That is a GREAT EXCELLENT FANTASTIC place for good fresh sushi at an unbeatable price. This comes at a price, the atmosphere is crap and service is slow (pass your way if you see there is too much queue).

This very quick post is to show you what you can get for 25p in that place. Not insisting enough that the nigris ordered were just VERY nice and fresh. A tip : from time to time they have white tuna, you cannot miss it. They even serve it with natto... yum :)

I got all this for 25p - and EXCELLENT quality

On top: dragon roll (big roll)

On top right: salmon cheese roll (with philadelphia cheese) 

In the middle: salmon avocado - generous

On the right you can see horse mackerel and conger eel nigris (lovely special's) 

On the left: more eels (come with the dragon roll) 

This being said, I'd avoid the dragon roll and go for their rainbow roll instead...

Dishoom 2, Upper St Martin Lane (Leicester Sq.) - second visit

Jan-7th count around 15pp for naan, a main, a dessert and a drink.

Last post about Dishoom was a praise to the place. Second time is not different. I like that place. It's funny how so many bloggers recently wrote reviews about Dishoom. I almost feel bad I write a good review, like so many other bloggers (!). But hey, you cannot change someone: when food is good, I sit, enjoy and feast.

No need to praise the place again, read first post for that. In a word Dishoom is really a great place to go to with friends to enjoy great Indian food.

Service was still as good as first time and, for a change, I went undercover this time !

I had a "thums up". For novice, it's the Indian version of the Coke. The brand was bought by The Coca Cola Company in 1993. I would recommend to try.

Thums Up - Indian version of Coca Cola

I tried as well the sheekh kabak which was great, slightly dry but otherwise nice and flavored to perfection.

 Sheekh Kabak - explosion of flavours

Two general comments about Dishoom. The only disappointment is the quality of the meat (chicken AND lamb) is not the best. It's good but not excellent... but again for this price you cannot expect the moon. The good comment is they do know how to cook Indian food and they serve it in the rules of the art. That more than offsets the bad comment by the way. Go there, try their food, and enjoy.

I finished the dinner with a rose and cardamon lassi. That was very tasty. Now, if I am honest, salty lassis are supposed to be watery, not too thick, as opposed to sweet ones which are supposed to be very thick. This one was too watery for me, not thick enough. For this reason, I consider Dishoom a better place for salty lassis than sweet ones.

Photos to come.

Tomoe, Marylebone Lane - Don't miss the grilled razor clams!!!

Dec-16th £35pp for dinner. Minimum charge is £15.00 for dinner.

Tomoe is a very interesting Japanese place. It offers a few original dishes, that one should definitely try.
First, let us start with the things we did not like too much...
I been in Tomoe a few times now. I cannot ever recall a good service. It is very slow. The place is busy so it's difficult for them to serve quickly. It's noisy as well. A quick tip: if you eat at the sushi bar downstairs you can always ask the shokunin directly what you want, he will serve you a bit quicker. There is also a minimum cover of £15 for dinner. Oh something else: the green tea is served by the glass, so no free refill here, as opposed to Cocoro. One last thing, atmosphere is not great and I would not have tried this place if no one had recommended it to me. You get the picture, Tomoe is not a fancy place, with a nice atmosphere. When you go there often, they recognize you and service improves a tiny little bit...

Don't worry! The quality of the food does much more than offset those negative points. In other words, if you're happy to try the Tomoe adventure, your palate will be rewarded. Every sushi is good here. And we got a great tip for sushi fans... Best time to get sushis/sashimi is Wednesday evening, the day they receive their sashimi grade fish... I cannot believe they told me this... :)

The menu is organised around a few specialties which are very creative. Among them don't miss the grilled razor clams, home made tofu and dynamite roll (finish with this one).

The masterpiece of Tomoe is the grilled razor clams. It comes with tomatoes, and in a little sauce. It is very fresh, creative, beautiful to the eyes and to the mouth. Don't forget to order one. Even, go there to have one. That should be one of the purpose of you visiting the restaurant. It's their specialty, and you will like it.

Grilled razor clams. Specialty of the house. 

Great to the eyes and the palate.

Home made tofu  is difficult to find in London: you can always find cold tofu, but hot tofu freshly made is extremely rare. This dish is educative because you get to see how it is done. Then it tastes nice. Tofu is sweet, soft and melting.

Home made tofu. I'm not a tofu fan

BUT it's good, and very very fresh... it can't be fresher actually.

Home made tofu comes with spring onions, dried fish (on the right as well)

and sesame sauce on the left.

Like every other roll, dragon roll is superbly realized for 13.50. It's relatively cheap considering the time it takes to be done. It's beautiful and fresh.

Dragon roll, beautiful piece, but a bit expensive, pass your way.

A dish I discovered and I cannot recommend enough is called 'braised pork with soft boiled egg'. The name says it all.... you dip the pork in the cold egg...The yellow of the egg gives consistency to pork and mixes well with the spring onions. I never tried this anywhere before. I'lll definitely have it again.

Braised pork with cold egg - yum

How it looks when you break the yolk.

Dynamite roll mixes salmon, tuna, sea bass and chili peppers. It is VERY hot. Maybe ask them to make it not as hot. Mine was strongly hot hot. Now, it is very creative and was nice to taste something new, sushi wise. Make sure to finish with this roll, not start with it, reason being the hotness will diminish the taste of a delicate sashimi should you get it after.

Finish with the spicy dynamite roll. 

That WILL wake you up! 

Soft shell crab roll - same comment than usual on soft shell crab: 

it's good BUT reheated...

 Scallops nigri were soooo soft, melting and tasty.

Salmon avocado was perfect to me

generous and of good quality

Black sesame ice cream is a good way to finish the dinner if you still have some space. A curious dessert, that you can't find so easily in London.

Back sesame seed ice cream

A very clear signal from Tomoe is that no dish is bad... EVERYTHING I tasted was good. You'll come accross a few very good surprises as well if you're adventurous enough. Don't miss the grilled razor clams, the hot home made tofu, the braised pork and egg and the dynamite roll.